The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL), The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), and the Maine Medical Center Research Institute (MMCRI) propose to continue the eight-year-old Mount Desert Island Stem Cell Symposium with three annual meetings from 2010 to 2012 with support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The proposed symposia, to be held annually in August 2011, 2012, and 2013 at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Salisbury Cove, Maine, will be the 9th, 10th, and 11th Mount Desert Island Stem Cell Symposia since the meeting was established in August 2002. The 2010 Symposium on 'Reprogramming and Epigenetics', will be held August 6 - 7, 2010. The Mount Desert Island Stem Cell Symposium will emphasize epigenetics and nuclear reprogramming in the generation and differentiation of stem cells, and the role of stem and progenitor cells in tissue regeneration. The conference will continue to engage the research strengths of MDIBL, JAX, and MMCRI by emphasizing comparative stem cell research in human, mouse, fish, and invertebrates, a programmatic approach unique to this meeting. The Organizing Committee, comprised of national leaders in biomedical and stem cell research, has developed the program of this symposium to address topical issues important to the stem cell research community. The specific aims of the 2010 symposium are: 1.) Present and discuss research studies of epigenetic regulation of gene transcription and expression in stem cells;2.) Present and discuss scientific advances in nuclear reprogramming;3.) Present and discuss research studies of stem cells in tissue development and regeneration;4.) Present and discuss research in which comparative models (mouse, zebrafish, worm, fly, yeast) are utilized to study epigenetic regulation;and 5.) Provide substantial opportunities for interaction between trainees, investigators new to stem cell research, and investigators well established in these research areas. Scientific sessions will include platform presentations, a trainee/faculty networking lunch, and a lecture open to the general public. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Mount Desert Island Stem Cell Symposium convenes leading investigators whose work in stem cell biology is focused on a variety of model organisms including human. The comparative nature of the meeting represents the critical need for a broad-based understanding of stem cell biology required to advance the use of human stem cells in new therapeutic approaches to disease. The invited speakers (and the organizing committee) include many clinical investigators interested in therapeutic applications of stem cell research. Their clinical interests keep stem cell therapies at the forefront of the discussion.